


A Stolen Victory

by orphan_account



Category: Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: If | Fire Emblem: Fates
Genre: Fire Emblem Fates: Conquest Spoilers, Gen, Nohr | Conquest Route
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-08
Updated: 2017-10-08
Packaged: 2019-01-10 13:53:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,784
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12300486
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: "...Was a ruler fit to feel such bitterness to another kingdom? Were her feelings justified?" [Hinoka-centric, character-study, one shot]





	A Stolen Victory

If she listened closely to the wind, she could hear the cacophony of a victory. Wreathed in hearty cries and dropped weapons, they strummed thickly at her heart. The glory was not hers, nor would it ever be, she realizes dismally. That taste had been robbed of her at a very young age, and just as she came close, it had been yanked away from her.

...The gods were childish in this game of ‘keep-away’.

Hinoka was reunited with Sakura when the rays of a new dawn trembled on the distant mountains. She had followed Corrin’s orders: Remain hidden until the waves of war lulled to a halt.

The doors to Castle Shirasagi had never felt further away from home than they had in that moment. Azama and Setsuna follow behind her, and she keeps her head high at the Nohrians who look at her with confusion. She almost wants to _laugh_ at the disbelief etched into their faces. Hoshido may have fallen, but she was still here – her, and Sakura.

( _distantly she wonders if the promise Corrin made, had been kept_ )

At the peak of the stairs, Hinoka chances a look at the war-torn battlefield. Blades of grass are flecked with the petals of cherry blossoms, an unnatural beauty among the reddened patches (Nohr was _kind_ enough to have swept up her fallen comrades – how _noble_ ). Enough rain would rinse away any physical markings of the tragedy outside Shirasagi, but right now she wishes _anything_ would come and sweep away the remaining Nohrian army.

They had _no right_ being on this land.

“Big sister!”

Attached to the voice is Sakura, who does not allow hesitance to cut before her actions. She buries her face against Hinoka, her breath sawing in and out of her from a mixture of sobs or exhaustion – perhaps it was both. When Sakura looks up at her, Hinoka feels her heart sink. “I-I th-thought you were...! W-When they in-invaded Shirasagi, th-they said you had—!”

Though it hurts, she pushes out a smile. It’s tired, and maybe Sakura _knew_ it was forced, but Hinoka leaves no room for questions. “I’m alright, Sakura... But what about you? Did they do anything?”

She shakes her head, and it’s probably the _only_ thing positive in the aftermaths of war.

It feels someone is tightening their fingers around her throat, crushing her windpipe, and in that moment, Hinoka doesn’t trust her voice. She holds Sakura tighter, closer. _Keep your head up; you have someone to protect_. The pressure behind her eyes threatens to burst, but Hinoka bites back. After all,

( _she’s done this before, she can do it again_ )

would it be appropriate for her to greet an enemy commander with a tear-streaked face.

She doesn’t recognize the person as a member of the Nohrian royal family, but the animosity hides beneath a cool exterior all the same. Thought it would be appropriate to do so, she refuses to let Sakura go, as if afraid they would snag her from her grasp. And she can’t lose any more of family.

“Princess Hinoka,” Of course they would know her. “I come with news: King Garon has passed, meaning the war is over—”

“I’m well aware the war has ended,” Hinoka quips, and in that moment, she does release Sakura, connected to her only by a clasped hand. “As much as I would like to hear about _your_ victory, I want to know about my family. Have my brothers and sister been found?”

He pauses, and it’s the hesitance alone that tells Hinoka that promise had not been met. “We were unable to find Prince Takumi, but there were sightings of him in the castle before King Garon fell. We can’t fully confirm if he’s still alive, but the chances are unlikely. As for Prince Ryoma, when given the choice to surrender, he...”

Hinoka listens to his report, she _hears_ it, and Sakura’s hands fly up to her mouth to muffle the sobs.

Raijinto had been imbedded into Ryoma’s stomach – _seppuku_ – twisted from a self-inflicted injury. Whether it was out of respect or simply shock from Ryoma’s actions, Raijinto had remained untouched, left at the side of its master.

Later, Hinoka would receive both Legendary Weapons cocooned in cloth, as ( _pity_ ) offering of remorse, a hanging request for forgiveness. After all, they could have plucked both weapons from her brothers had they wanted to.

She (politely) asks the commander to take leave, left with her little sister and their retainers. There’s a torrent of emotions twisting her stomach into knots, and she’s not sure whether to feel angry, sad, or even _worried_. For what was the become of Hoshido now that both her brothers were gone?

...The answer was obvious...

It was a responsibility she would _never_ saddle Sakura with, and there was no way she was going to ask Corrin. Aside from being partially responsible for the tragedies plaguing Hoshido, who would listen to her?

But Hinoka knew herself how ill-prepared she was to rule, having neglected her duties as a princess in exchange for training with the naginata. She would have much to learn, and Hoshido would have a princess that lacked _manners_ to lead them to a brighter future.

How unfortunate.

“Sakura, listen to me,” Hinoka gently grasps her arms, stares into the reddened eyes. “Everything’s going to be okay; I won’t let you take on the role as ruler. If you need time to recover, to be away from any of this, then take it.”

She shakes her head, for the second time that morning. Her voice trembles out of her, falls to the ground like bricks, but the look she gives Hinoka is one of determination. “No! I-I can help t-too! It’s not s-something you have to d-do alone. S-So _please_... Please don’t k-keep me out of this!”

“But—” _...what?_ What was she supposed to say? ‘Let me do this on my own again’? Like how she had shut out all her siblings just to focus on getting Corrin back? How she _neglected_ them? Was she really going to do that again when it was just her and Sakura left? A cruel message sent by the gods, this could be a twisted version of a second chance. Could she shut out Sakura like last time?

“...Sakura,” she begins slowly. “I’m not forcing you to do this, but if that’s what you want, if you believe helping me won’t hurt you...”

Her words trail off – the answer is _obvious_ – when approaching footsteps breach her thoughts. She looks up and relief blossoms in her when she sees Yukimura and a few Hoshidan soldiers. They’re not much, but Hinoka’s relieved to see _some_ managed to survive.

They approach her, and Yukimura can’t even _look_ at her, head bowed in something she recognizes as shame. “Lady Hinoka, for all that happened...” his voice sounds _broken_ , so unlike the sure-tone he spoke in when sketching out strategies for the upcoming battles. “I am truly sorry. As Hoshido’s tactician, I have not only failed my country, but you and Lady Sakura... Lord Ryoma, Lord Takumi... Lady Mikoto—”

“Yukimura, none of this... You’re not responsible for any of this. I’m grateful for all you’ve done before and during this war,” she hopes it sounds formal, grateful. “The recovery of Hoshido is a long road, but I hope that you...” her gaze slips to Sakura quickly. “...and my sister will be there to guide me.”

A pause. “I can’t do this alone.”

Now he looks at her, maybe not as determined as Sakura had been (but _equally broken_ ), but Hinoka does not doubt his loyalty. He bows to her, the adjacent soldiers following suit. “You have my word, milady.”

And in the mess of it all, all Hinoka can do is nod.

* * *

 

The Nohrian royal family eventually emerge from the castle, and Hinoka’s glad Sakura isn’t around when Corrin walks behind them. As war-torn and weary as she herself is, Corrin looks equally tired, and if this had been another time, she would have no doubt rushed to her side and checked on her.

She can’t help her stomach from dropping as the eldest Nohrian sister – Corrin’s _only_ older sister – easily takes that role from her, doting the way a mother would her child.

_That should’ve been me._

It should’ve been _Hinoka_ who walked alongside Corrin. It should have been _Hinoka_ who fought at Corrin’s side. It should have been _Hinoka_ who shared the victory with Corrin. But it _was_ Hinoka who spent her whole life training for Corrin.

Hinoka swallows her self-pitying when the eldest prince (Xander, she corrects herself) approaches. She’s never felt smaller in her whole life.

“Princess Hinoka,” he speaks, distancing himself from his siblings. “For all that has happened, you have my sincerest apologies,

 _Then why didn’t you stand up to that..._ monster _you called father? Your apologies mean **nothing** -_

If this all could have been avoided...”

She bites back the rising bitterness she feels towards this man and his family. Now was not the time to argue – she didn’t know if there ever _would_ be a time. “There’s no need for that, Prince Xander. I believe you have your own kingdom to worry about. So please, don’t waste any more of your time here than necessary.”

Xander says nothing. His frown deepens not out of hostility but concern. She doesn’t need that right now – she doesn’t need _any_ of it.

“Very well,” he exhales. “One day, I hope you and I will be able to guide our kingdoms on the path to peace.”

She nods.

...She feels she’s been doing that a lot for one day.

* * *

 

The rest of the Nohrian family doesn’t pay her any mind, and Hinoka can’t find it in herself to hear what words Corrin may speak. Perhaps at another time, but she is the last person Hinoka needs. So she settles for excusing herself by saying she needs to find Sakura.

Piled on her shoulders was a new responsibility as queen, which alone brought on its own type of training. She would work with Prince Xander to reform Hoshido and mend the ties of war, but she would do what she could on her own.

Distrust and hurt drove deeper than any wound in the veins of Hoshido, and that alone needed Hinoka’s help to mend. If she could decrease the hostility Hoshidans had towards Nohrians, it would be a fair start. Even if she herself still harbored dark feelings towards their neighboring country.

...Was a ruler fit to feel such bitterness to another kingdom? Were her feelings justified?

The road to recovery, she muses as she is given news of Xander’s upcoming coronation.

Faraway, but not unrealistic.


End file.
